Waste Connections (TSE:WCN) Price Target Raised to C$260.00

Waste Connections (TSE:WCN - Free Report) had its target price raised by ATB Capital from C$255.00 to C$260.00 in a report released on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Eight Capital set a C$270.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank upgraded Waste Connections to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$209.25.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN stock traded down C$3.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching C$244.45. The stock had a trading volume of 293,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,542. The company has a market cap of C$63.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 100.60. Waste Connections has a 12-month low of C$174.74 and a 12-month high of C$253.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of C$247.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$239.18.

Waste Connections (TSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported C$1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of C$1.61 by C$0.09. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The company had revenue of C$3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of C$3.03 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 9.9808652 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.426 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This is an increase from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is 34.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$249.52, for a total transaction of C$1,996,164.00. In other Waste Connections news, Senior Officer Robert Andres Nielsen sold 571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$252.28, for a total transaction of C$144,051.88. Also, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$249.52, for a total value of C$1,996,164.00. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,671 shares of company stock valued at $6,073,683. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.